RCB really struggling with the nature of the pitch at home this year. Their batting order generally likes the ball to come on to aid strokeplay, which hasn't been the case. It's underwhelming to see a team with such talent nearly out of the race so early in the piece. But a big confidence booster for Gujarat Lions nevertheless. It will give their net run rate a boost too. That's all for today. This is Sagar Chawla signing off on behalf of Raju Peethala, Akshay Maanay and Kumar Abhisekh Das.

Tye: Execution of the hat-trick ball wasn't as good as last time. We were desperate for the win. Glad that we got the result tonight. Keeps us alive in the competition. The plan was to hit a good length against Gayle. It was the back end of the powerplay and I knew he would look to hit soon. I was just lucky I got it in the right spot. It was a pretty good wicket. We had expected it to break up a little bit. But it was a high class wicket, had something in it for the pacers. Suited our attack tonight. Nathu showed the other day that he certainly belongs at this level. Him and Basil have bright futures. Pretty hectic schedule this year, but the fans here are unbelievable. They just love cricket and India is always a special place to play cricket.

AJ Tye is Man of the Match

Raina: We have done really well in all departments. AJ, Faulkner and Jadeja bowled really well. Baz and Kishan started well. Whenever you have leftie-rightie combination, it always works for you. Then Finchy batted beautifully. He was just telling me to stay there. He was smashing everything. Wicket was doing something with the new ball. The wicket of Gayle was the turning point. Team effort today. Basil and Nathu were very accurate. Very happy today. We haven't done well in bowling department, we can still improve. The combination was brilliant today. Smith is a team player, he's done well for us. Jimmy and AJ they played very well for couple of years in the IPL. This win will give us a lot of confidence moving forward.

Virat Kohli: It is never easy to lose games. Especially, when you have a lack of intent and you lose games, it is not easy. Last two games we have lost like that. Still, five games to go. If we turn things, we can get some momentum in the later stages of the tournament. Tonight we were not clinical. You have to come out and play with intent. You need some luck going your way. The only way you can come out of it is by playing positive cricket. The guys were hesitant in trying to do different things on the field. I feel that should not never be the case. We should enjoy the tournament. We are putting too much of pressure on ourselves as a team. Individuals have to take responsibility. It should not be the same two-three guys performing all the time. Hopefully, we can string some strong performances in the upcoming games and turn it around. It was coming on decently well. I thought it would be slow. Under lights, it is a different perspective altogether. During the Mumbai game, in the day time, it was slow. Credit to Finch, he played a fantastic knock. In a small chase, it is important for one guy to step up and he did. Credit to him for taking his team through. He did not give us any chance of coming back into the game.

22:58 Local Time, 17:28 GMT, 22:58 IST: Another disappointing batting performance from RCB. Their top-order caved once more and that momentum was never reversed. 134 would have taken some defending here, even with the tacky nature of the pitch. Samuel Badree gave some hope by getting rid of both GL openers cheaply, but it was snuffed out pretty quickly by a rampaging Finch who played at a different level and smoked a half-century in just 22 balls on a pitch where most batsmen struggled. Raina tagged along playing an unusually scratchy knock, probably jolted by the little bump he took on the shoulder in the field. But he managed to find his fluency towards the end and closed the game off. A comprehensive win for GL in the end. As for RCB, they can only get to seven wins at best. They might be out of the race already, barring something really spectacular.

13.5

Head to Raina, 1 run, flat on off, Raina whips it through mid-wicket to bring up the win. They've coasted home with 37 balls to spare

13.4

Head to Raina, FOUR, another one. He's timed this even better. Up and over extra-cover, the fielder dives in the deep but the ball sneaks through

13.3

Head to Raina, FOUR, that's a really good shot. It's inside-out but it's off the back foot which is not easy to do at all. Flat from Head and sliding in, Raina stays in the crease and somehow finds the power to lift it over extra-cover and take it to the boundary

13.2

Head to Jadeja, 1 run, arm-ball on off, Jadeja punches it through cover

13.1

Head to Raina, 1 run, eyes his favourite inside-out drive but Head slides this on to catch a thick inside edge behind square

Travis Head, right-arm off break, comes into the attack

12.6

Negi to Jadeja, no run, tucked to short fine, sent back by Raina

12.5

Negi to Raina, 1 run, fires it in on leg, Raina nudges behind square

12.4

Negi to Raina, SIX, races to the pitch of the ball and lofts it over wide long-on. Raina may have the net run-rate at the corner of his eye

12.3

Negi to Jadeja, 1 run, cuts this one through the covers

12.2

Negi to Jadeja, no run, darted across outside off, beats Jadeja for pace and beats his cut

12.2

Negi to Jadeja, wide, fires it down the leg-side, wided

Ravindra Jadeja, left handed bat, comes to the crease

12.1

Negi to Finch, out Caught by de Villiers!! Gone. Finch's knock comes to an end. Flat from Negi, following Finch as he backs away, cramps him up a touch and he miscues the pull straight to long-on. But what a knock it's been. He's blown RCB away. Finch c de Villiers b Negi 72(34) [4s-5 6s-6]

Negi to Finch, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

11.6

Chahal to Finch, 1 run, flat and sliding into Finch, he mis-hits it through mid-wicket

11.5

Chahal to Finch, no run, cleverly bowls it very wide of off and Finch fails to fetch it over long-on

11.4

Chahal to Finch, FOUR, he's just toying with them. It's his day today. Chahal tosses this leg-break up outside off and Finch swats the reverse-sweep away very fine. All intentional, all in control

11.3

Chahal to Raina, 1 run, skips down the track trying to hit with the turn between long-on and mid-wicket. But he isn't quite to the pitch and hence the ball turns in slightly more. Skews it off the inside half, on the bounce to deep mid-wicket

11.2

Chahal to Raina, FOUR, flighted on middle, there's no one at square leg and Raina is quickly down on his knees to sweep him to the boundary

11.1

Chahal to Finch, 1 run, doesn't quite get hold of this one. Drags the slog-sweep from outside off to the right of long-on who cuts it off swiftly

10.6

Negi to Finch, 1 run, flatter and turning away outside off, Finch punches a single through the covers to keep strike

10.5

Negi to Finch, SIX, that's a smaller six but perhaps a better shot as he had to drag it from outside off. So much power in the bottom hand as he swipes a flat six over wide long-on

10.4

Negi to Finch, SIX, that's been launched! Full in the slot for Finch and he isn't standing on ceremony there. He certainly isn't. Lots of flight from Negi, Finch's eyes lit up. Huge six down the ground

10.3

Negi to Finch, no run, follows Finch as he backs away well down leg, denies him the room and he swings and misses. Hit on the body

10.2

Negi to Raina, 1 run, another miscued slog-sweep and this time the ball falls just short of Head who is running in for the catch. Does well to get his body behind the ball

10.1

Negi to Finch, 1 run, hangs back to a very full ball and drives down to long-off

Pawan Negi, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack

9.6

Chahal to Raina, no run, sliding on with the arm outside off, maybe a googly, Raina defends

Chahal to Raina, no ball, Raina has been asked to wait. They're checking Chahal's front foot. He's caught on the boundary, but oopsy .. it's a no-ball! Chahal's foot is on the line, nothing behind it. A slog-sweep from Raina, doesn't get all of it, and fails to clear the longest boundary on the ground. But that's criminal from Chahal

9.4

Chahal to Raina, no run, beaten on the front foot, doesn't pick the googly

9.3

Chahal to Finch, 1 run, wants to hoick it against the turn but Chahal holds the length back nicely. The ball grips and takes a thick leading edge towards short third man

9.2

Chahal to Raina, 1 run, flat and turning in on middle, Raina nudges it into the mid-wicket region

9.1

Chahal to Raina, FOUR, slides this way too wide outside off and Raina reaches out to dab it away for his first boundary. Hasn't been himself today, maybe this will get him going

Time-out! Tough times for RCB. Finch has made batting look so easy while Raina is happy to play the second fiddle. With so much batting left, GL should do this in a canter

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, 2 runs, fastest fifty by a GL player in the history of IPL, off 22 balls. Pitched up, Finch looks to drive firmly, it takes a big chunk of bottom half before dancing down towards the third man fence. A diving stop keeps it down to two, but cannot stop Finch from reaching fifty

8.6

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, wide, short and down leg, another reload

8.5

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, SIX, how does it matter? He is smashing the ball into the crowds. A half-volley on the pads, he whups it for a 97-metre maximum over mid-wicket. Just compare Raina's score with Finchy. Tells you that he's in some mood

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, FOUR, he is picking the gaps to perfection tonight. Covers for the line and lofts gorgeously over extra cover. He is turning it on...

8.3

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, FOUR, mistimed, but worth it. He saw there was no-one at deep mid-wicket, takes on the short ball and despite the ball getting big on him, he pulls full-throttle. Excellent batting

8.2

Aniket Choudhary to Raina, 1 run, shuffles a touch and taps the ball on its head to round off a single through mid-wicket

8.1

Aniket Choudhary to Raina, no run, fuller and wider, Raina crouches and drives square, straight to Chahal at backward point

7.6

Chahal to Finch, 2 runs, tucks Chahal past the square leg umpire and acknowledges Raina's call, comes racing back to complete the second

7.5

Chahal to Finch, no run, slower through the air, tweaks away a touch and may have just got it inside the wide tramline. Finch lets it be

7.4

Chahal to Raina, 1 run, nudges a single round the corner

7.3

Chahal to Finch, 1 run, shimmies out and flat-bats the drive to long-off

7.2

Chahal to Finch, SIX, down the wicket and bam! Was nowhere near the pitch of the delivery, but fast hands and power of Finch takes care of everything. No half-measures. Swung it as hard as he can and got it over mid-wicket

7.1

Chahal to Raina, 1 run, pitches outside leg and drifts in ever so slightly, Raina happy to sweep it backwards of square leg

Yuzvendra Chahal, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack

6.6

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, no run, his front leg comes across way too early, looks to scoop a good length ball over the keeper. Made too much room around leg-stump in the process, it sails over and just past him. Jadhav appeals to distract the umpire, wasn't needed. Fair delivery

6.5

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, no run, hits the deck hard and gets it to bounce over a swinging Finch, looks to pull, but was done for pace

6.4

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, no run, steps out and misses a length delivery, was looking to whack it through mid-wicket. No dice

6.3

Aniket Choudhary to Raina, 1 run, 130ks, opens the bat face and guides a single to third man does Suresh Raina

6.2

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, 1 run, cuts across the batsman, Finch looks to go over cover, but he doesn't get the desired connection. Thick outside edge runs down to third man

6.1

Aniket Choudhary to Finch, no run, good start. Not offering any room either side, Finch punches it with the straightest of bats into the off-side

Aniket Choudhary, comes into the attack

5.6

Aravind to Raina, no run, goes a touch wide of the crease and fires it around middle and off, might have denied the pace too. Raina forces himself into a pokey defence

5.5

Aravind to Finch, 1 run, wicket-to-wicket, Finchy dinks it to mid-wicket for a quick single

5.4

Aravind to Finch, FOUR, makes room while clearing his front leg and bludgeons Sreenath Aravind straight down the ground. Can't slot fielders for that kind of a shot

5.3

Aravind to Raina, 1 run, just opens the bat face and glides a single wide of short third

5.2

Aravind to Finch, 1 run, and now he is happy to milk a single, smart batting

5.1

Aravind to Finch, FOUR, plenty of width, Finch throws the bat and gets a thick edge which races away to the third man fence

4.6

Badree to Finch, 1 run, powers one to deep mid-on and takes on AB. Miss and hit at the non-striker's end, would have been tight had that hit the stumps

4.5

Badree to Finch, 2 runs, paddle-sweeps a flatter delivery to the right of short fine who half-stops with a tame dive

4.4

Badree to Finch, SIX. Kaboom. Make that two in a row. Finch wants to take the attack to the opposition. This time he fetches the ball from leg stump and goes spank over wide long-on. Madness...

4.3

Badree to Finch, SIX, why use the feet when you have such beautiful hands. What power, woof! Gets underneath this venom-less slider and smacks it onto the roof at deep mid-wicket

4.2

Badree to Finch, no run, drifting in, Finch misses the flick, rolls away off the pad

Aaron Finch, right handed bat, comes to the crease

4.1

Badree to Brendon McCullum, out Caught by de Villiers!! Game on! Both openers are back in the hut and it's that man, Samuel Badree, again. Shimmies out to loft the bowler over long-on, wasn't to the pitch, hits it right of the cue and holes out to the safest fielder on the planet. A-B-D. Clever from Badree as he followed B-Mac and fired it too close for his liking. Brendon McCullum c de Villiers b Badree 3(6)

Badree to Brendon McCullum, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

3.6

Aravind to Raina, no run, comes dancing down the pitch and misses the line by miles. He is just trying to hit it over the infield without any conviction. Doesn't work always. Not certainly on this pitch

3.5

Aravind to Raina, no run, seam-up, right on the money. Full and zooming in on off, Raina could only squeeze it towards backward point

3.5

Aravind to Raina, no ball, too high is it? Looks 50-50, but reckon that's harsh on the bowler. Raina advances and misses the upper cut, sails just over his helmet. VK ain't happy as the umpire signals a free-hit

Aravind to Raina, no run, chopped on, almost! Throws the kitchen sink at a short one, wasn't that wide to be slashing. He still goes through and slices the shot off the inside edge onto his pad

3.3

Aravind to Raina, no run, hops across and plants the ball into the on-side with an angled bat

3.2

Aravind to Brendon McCullum, 1 run, tucked away off the pads, Badree dives full length to his left at backward square to prevent a boundary

3.1

Aravind to Raina, leg byes, 1 run, change of pace? No. 134ks angled in on middle and leg, beats Raina on the aerial flick. Hits him just below on the kneeroll, but that was sliding down comfortably

2.6

Badree to Raina, 1 run, gets across and behind the line of the delivery to ease a single down to long-on

2.5

Badree to Raina, no run, short one, Raina cuts but straight to backward point

2.4

Badree to Raina, no run, slider, Raina open-dabs to point

Suresh Raina, left handed bat, comes to the crease

2.3

Badree to Ishan Kishan, out Lbw!! Badree's go-to delivery, the skidder. He may have anticipated a slog-sweep from Ishan Kishan and fired it straight on the stumps. Also the length was the key, neither full; nor short. Enough to defeat the batsman's instincts and strike him dead in front. Ishan Kishan was way too early on the shot. Ishan Kishan lbw b Badree 16(11) [4s-4]

Badree to Ishan Kishan, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

2.2

Badree to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, short, inviting. Ishan Kishan clears his front leg and pulls it in the gap behind square square, there's no-one there and that will be an easy boundary

2.1

Badree to Brendon McCullum, 1 run, down on one knee. aiming for a slog-sweep, makes a mess of the connection. Takes the inside edge and rolls behind square

1.6

Aravind to Ishan Kishan, no run, beaten again! Cuts some pace and angles it in the uncomfy zone, Ishan Kishan looking for a dab-and-run perhaps. Not to be

1.5

Aravind to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, superb stroke! Punched off the middle, don't move! Uses the crease to adjust his feet movements as he unveils it in the gap between cover and point

1.4

Aravind to Ishan Kishan, no run, lovely line and length. Right where left-handers hate it. Lands it on the seam and gets some nip away before straightening, extra bounce too. Beats Ishan Kishan comfortably

Jadhav is standing back now

1.3

Aravind to Brendon McCullum, 1 run, no shuffly movements this time. Allows the ball to leap and drops it into the on-side to steal a quick single

1.2

Aravind to Brendon McCullum, no run, stands way outside leg and misses a straight ball, little bit of extra bounce on that occasion

1.1

Aravind to Brendon McCullum, no run, gentle pace, the away slanter. McCullum jumps in his crease looking to offer a deft touch, beaten

Jadhav is standing up to the stumps

Sreenath Aravind, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack

0.6

Badree to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, looks as if Ishan Kishan has been given the license to express himself. Six balls, six whacks. Stamps his weight on the back foot and powers a biff-drive past a diving mid-off

0.5

Badree to Ishan Kishan, no run, floater on middle, thumps it straight back at the bowler

0.4

Badree to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, goes with the spin and gives it a full whack. Quick to rock back, pulls as hard as he can, Mandeep Singh from long-on does well to make a diving stop, but he seems to have made contact with the boundary triangles, the boot to be precise

0.3

Badree to Ishan Kishan, no run, looks to go on-side, the ball grips slightly and hits him high. Another mistimed stroke

0.2

Badree to Ishan Kishan, no run, looks to go hard on the back foot, but yet again the ball skids through and hits the splice before rolling into the off-side

0.1

Badree to Ishan Kishan, no run, skidder on off, hurries onto Ishan Kishan who bunts it back to the bowler

Ishan Kishan and Brendon McCullum are at the crease. Ishan Kishan is on strike. Badree will open the attack

Back again! B-Mac has a new opening partner. Ishan Kishan it is. Here's Badree with a slip in place...

Andrew Tye: You know I am trying to do my job. To get a couple early, big ones was very handy for my team. Just looking at the pitch, I thought the cross seamers would grip a little bit. I just ran in and bowled. Lucky to get those two edges. It took me few years, maybe four, five, six years to be confident about the slower ball. It is paying dividends now. It is a decent pitch and has played better than we thought.

When you lose three wickets in four balls in the powerplay, you generally don't win games. And if those three are Kohli, Gayle and Head - a side hardly recovers. The slump continued as AB de Villiers ran himself out. The only contributions came from Kedar Jadhav and Pawan Negi, but the duo got out in the 30s to increase the batting woes. The 23-run ninth wicket stand has given some respect to the total. However, GL should walk through this with ease. A good chance for them to improve their NRR. Back in 10 for the chase..

19.6

Faulkner to Chahal, out Chahal Run Out!! 1 run completed. RCB have been bowled out. Another back of the hand slower one from Faulkner, Chahal drills the drive to long-off and Choudhary calls him for the second. McCullum gets to the ball and releases it quickly to Karthik, who does the rest. For the first time in IPL, RCB have been bowled out in consecutive matches.Chahal run out (Brendon McCullum/Karthik) 1(2)

Faulkner to Chahal, THAT'S OUT!! Run Out!!

19.5

Faulkner to Chahal, no run, the loopy yorker outside off, Chahal can't squeeze it out

Yuzvendra Chahal, right handed bat, comes to the crease

19.4

Faulkner to Aravind, out Caught by Brendon McCullum!! Easy peasy. McCullum makes it look so easy. The slower delivery right in the slot, Aravind spotted it and went on one knee to smash it out of the ground, did not get the elevation and hits it to long-on. McCullum first reverse cups it, but the momentum was taking him over, tosses the ball up, comes back in and completes the formalities. Aravind c Brendon McCullum b Faulkner 9(16)

Faulkner to Aravind, 1 run, they are running for everything. The back of the hand delivery and Aravind is early into the drive, the inside edge rolls to the right of Karthik, he shies and misses. Choudhary survives

Howstat: Andrew Tye has 12 wickets after first five IPL matches - the joint most for any player along with Adam Zampa.

Basil Thampi to Aniket Choudhary, 2 runs, yorker length on off, Choudhary squeezes it towards extra cover. Raina moves across quickly and fails to pick up the ball, the duo show good presence of mind to get back for the second

18.4

Basil Thampi to Aniket Choudhary, FOUR, finally a boundary after 30 balls. Gets the crowd and cheerleaders going. They have been quiet all evening. Low full toss and Choudhary drives it uppishly wide of extra cover, Finch at long-off gave up the chase very early

Basil Thampi to Aravind, 1 run, back of a length angled across off, Aravind mistimes the punch to the left of point

Basil Thampi [3.0-0-24-1] is back into the attack

The first goal for RCB would be to bat out the 20 overs. Can they? Here's Thampi with his last..

17.6

Andrew Tye to Aravind, leg byes, 1 run, strays onto the pads and Aravind doesn't seem to connect with the pull, off the pad and dribbles to fine leg. Tye ends a superb spell, a match-winning one: 4-0-12-3

17.5

Andrew Tye to Aravind, no run, fuller and on off, Aravind drives towards cover, McCullum takes it on the bounce and fires a throw at the striker's end. Karthik had to scamper to stop the overthrow

17.4

Andrew Tye to Aravind, no run, the off-pace delivery and Aravind charges down and swings blindly, the ball loops over the stumps

17.3

Andrew Tye to Aravind, 2 runs, slips it down leg, Aravind pulls off the inner half of the bat, the ball does not have enough to reach the fence and Karthik hunts it down to keep to a brace

More from MS: I notice this from Mandeep. Every time he cuts, he never tries to roll his wrists to keep the ball down. The back foot too doesn't go beyond the line of the front foot. Got out in the same way against KKR

17.2

Andrew Tye to Aniket Choudhary, 1 run, short of length on off, Choudhary stays leg-side of the ball and pushes it towards cover. Aravind calls for the run and makes it even though Jakati hits the timber

17.1

Andrew Tye to Aniket Choudhary, no run, makes room to smash it down the ground, somehow manages to middle it but unfortunately picks out the mid-on fielder

16.6

Faulkner to Aravind, no run, the back of the hand slower ball, teases Aravind outside off, he goes for the slash a day early and is beaten on the outside edge

16.5

Faulkner to Aniket Choudhary, 1 run, back of a length on middle, wristed through mid-wicket. GL won't mind these singles

16.4

Faulkner to Aravind, 1 run, once again no pace on the ball, Aravind mistimes the drive and the ball rolls adjacent to the wicket

Andrew Tye to Aniket Choudhary, 1 run, good length ball on the stumps, Choudhary defends off the inner half and the ball rolls to the unmanned mid-wicket region

Aniket Choudhary, right handed bat, comes to the crease

15.5

Andrew Tye to Mandeep, out Caught by Jadeja!! There goes RCB's last hope to post a decent total. Mandeep 's horror IPL continues. For the third or fourth time this season he has got playing the cut shot. Short and wide, it was there to be smacked, Mandeep cracks the cut straight to Jadeja at backward point. Third wicket for Tye and he takes his tally to 12. Mandeep c Jadeja b Andrew Tye 8(14)

Andrew Tye to Mandeep, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

15.4

Andrew Tye to Aravind, 1 run, on a length just outside off, Aravind drives on the up to sweeper cover

Andrew Tye to Aravind, 1 run, fuller and on off, Aravind stays leg-side and drives, it is uppish but wide of the cover fielder

15.1

Andrew Tye to Aravind, no run, good length ball just outside off, Aravind pushes it tamely towards mid-off and once more there is hesitation regarding the calling

Andrew Tye [2.0-0-5-2] is back into the attack

14.6

Jadeja to Aravind, 1 run, Karthik goes up for an LBW appeal, Jadeja also joins in but nothing from umpire Shamshuddin. Aravind looks to paddle and might have got some wood on that as the umpire gives it as run

14.5

Jadeja to Aravind, no run, darted in on off-stump, Aravind defends down the wicket

14.4

Jadeja to Mandeep, 1 run, Mandeep shuffles across and laps it to fine leg

Sreenath Aravind, left handed bat, comes to the crease

14.3

Jadeja to Badree, out Caught by Ishan Kishan!! GL can do no wrong today. While RCB cannot find a way to stop the slump. What was Badree thinking playing that shot? Quicker and on the stumps, Badree goes for the heave into the leg-side, skies it towards deep mid-wicket. The ball hung in the air for a long time. Kishan had a fair distance to cover, he reaches there and slides across to cling on. Super take from the youngster. Badree c Ishan Kishan b Jadeja 3(3)

Jadeja to Badree, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

14.2

Jadeja to Badree, 2 runs, Raina anticipated the paddle, moved across to his left from slip, but the ball eludes him. Badree was early in his intentions and picks up a couple before long leg tidies up

14.1

Jadeja to Mandeep, 1 run, flatter and around off, Mandeep rides the bounce and punches square on the off-side

Ravindra Jadeja [3.0-0-23-1] is back into the attack

Umpire Anil Chaudhary signals for time-out. It has all been GL so far. With just a lone recognised batsman in the middle, they would be looking to wrap things up quickly. RCB need a miraculous innings from Mandeep to get them out of trouble. He's being lectured by Kohli and Vettori, informs MS Ramakrishnan.

Ankit Soni to Badree, 1 run, tossed up on off, Badree wrists it into the on-side and opens his account

Samuel Badree, right handed bat, comes to the crease

13.4

Ankit Soni to Negi, out Caught by Basil Thampi!! Maiden IPL wicket for Soni. Negi wanted to smack another one out of the park. What was the need? You have to ask him. It was quicker and on off, Negi could not quite get underneath that, but still went through with the swipe, Thampi at deep mid-wicket didn't have to move an inch to pouch that. Another set batsmen throws it away for RCB. Negi c Basil Thampi b Ankit Soni 32(19) [4s-3 6s-2]

Ankit Soni to Negi, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

13.3

Ankit Soni to Negi, SIX, Soni is trying too many things. First ball - leggie. Second - googly. Third - the front of the hand slider, Negi flat-bats it over extra cover. Just about has enough wings to clear the rope

13.2

Ankit Soni to Negi, no run, lovely comeback from Soni. The googly which is slower through the air, Negi wanted to repeat the previous shot, the extra bounce on the wrong 'un beats the bat

13.1

Ankit Soni to Negi, SIX, a much needed six. Soni is brave enough to toss it up, Negi kneels down and fetches the slog sweep from outside off, smacks it over long-on and has the crowd going again

Ankit Soni [2.0-0-14-0] is back into the attack

12.6

Faulkner to Negi, 1 run, walks across and bunts the slower delivery into the on-side, for a single

12.5

Faulkner to Negi, no run, the back of the hand slower ball, grips the surface and deviates away, Negi has a tame poke at that and is beaten. Barely carries to Karthik behind the stumps

12.4

Faulkner to Mandeep, 1 run, slanted across the batsman, Mandeep uses that to his advantage and runs it down to third man

12.3

Faulkner to Mandeep, leg byes, FOUR, back of a length on off, Mandeep is early into the pull. The ball kisses the back thigh and escapes past Karthik, he dived over the ball there. Bonus runs for RCB

12.2

Faulkner to Negi, 1 run, angled into the pads, Negi helps it round the corner - to backward square leg

12.1

Faulkner to Negi, FOUR, Negi welcomes Faulkner with a superb drive. He makes a bit of room to open up the off-side field, Faulkner helps his cause by dishing it full, pumped through extra cover and wide of long-off

James Faulkner, comes into the attack

Our man, MS from the ground, has this update: Oopsy! Looks like the crowd is angry with Mandeep for running AB out. He wanted a risky run, but Negi sent him back. The crowd goes "Heyyy" literally threatening him. Is that AB run-out still running on Mandeep's mind? It was an easy two with that Negi flick to deep mid-wicket, yet he paused for a moment on the second run.

Jadeja to Negi, no run, now a solid forward defence to end the over. Good one for RCB, 12 off it

10.5

Jadeja to Negi, 2 runs, fuller and just outside off, Negi works it in the gap near the deep mid-wicket region. These two are quick and get back for the second comfortably

10.4

Jadeja to Mandeep, 1 run, short third man seems to be very busy. Fired in and hint of turn, Mandeep closes the bat face and the outside edge rolls to short third man

10.3

Jadeja to Negi, 1 run, this time though he finds the middle part of the bat, straight to short third man and a quick single taken

10.2

Jadeja to Negi, FOUR, again. Once more Jadeja fires it across the left-hander, Negi still does not get the connection right on the dab, races away fine off the under edge and no chance for short third man

10.1

Jadeja to Negi, FOUR, not where he intended, but RCB will take any run now. They have become like golddust. Quicker around off, Negi goes for the steer and chops it off the under edge, nutmegs Karthik and runs away to the boundary

9.6

Ankit Soni to Mandeep, no run, tossed up delivery and the batsman is well forward to combat that

9.5

Ankit Soni to Negi, 1 run, driven with the turn as the ball was full enough, long-off does the rest

9.4

Ankit Soni to Negi, no run, full toss and the ball trims the toe-end of the bat to go behind the sticks

Pawan Negi, left handed bat, comes to the crease

9.3

Ankit Soni to Mandeep, out de Villiers Run Out!! Miscommunication personified. The two men were clueless, stranded almost midway on the 22 yards and the end result is a calamitous one. ABD is gone. That was pushed away into the off-side with the outer half of the bat and then the mix-up followed. Yes-no, yes-no, ABD somehow moved past Mandeep and the direct hit at the striker's end meant the end for him. ABD did make the initial call though. de Villiers run out (Jadeja) 5(11)

Ankit Soni to Mandeep, THAT'S OUT!! Run Out!!

9.2

Ankit Soni to de Villiers, 1 run, exposes all his sticks and then lambasts the ball away through the off-side past covers for long-off to pick it up

9.2

Ankit Soni to de Villiers, wide, fast and down leg, the radar missed and the umpire wides it

9.1

Ankit Soni to de Villiers, no run, the ball slants in and the batsman trying to back away, manages an inside edge onto his body

8.6

Jadeja to Mandeep, no run, again forward and defends it away into the off-side

8.5

Jadeja to Mandeep, no run, pushes the ball back to the bowler as the ball was floated up

Slip in place for Mandeep.

Mandeep Singh, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Time-out!! The groundsmen barge in with the ropes to swipe the outfield of whatever dew there is. But talking about the dismal show from RCB's top-order. Utterly disappointing.

8.4

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, out Bowled!! Poor shot!! Tries to be cheeky and loses his woodwork. That was flat and at the sticks, the batsman tried to open the face of the bat and run it down but misread the trajectory and the length to be clean bowled. GL break the momentum and get the huge scalp against the run of play. Kedar Jadhav b Jadeja 31(18) [4s-4 6s-1]

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!

8.3

Jadeja to de Villiers, leg byes, 1 run, the batsman jumps out, misses the ball and is rapped on the pads. The ump doesn't even have a look and signals leg-byes

8.2

Jadeja to de Villiers, no run, no real turn, the batsman defends it back after initially thiking of clipping it away

8.1

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, drives away from his body and threads the ball through covers for a single

7.6

Ankit Soni to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, another sharp in-ducker, the batsman stays inside the line of the ball and closes the face of the bat on impact to get it to short fine leg for a single

7.5

Ankit Soni to Kedar Jadhav, SIX, drops down on one knee and sends the ball skywards. That was a maximum, the moment it left the bat. He pumelled that with all his might and the ball landed well into the crowds in the cow corner region

7.4

Ankit Soni to de Villiers, 1 run, that was a front of the hand delivery and the batsman trying to pull it, doesn't pick it and adjusts it into a last moment pull to send it away to deep mid-wicket

7.3

Ankit Soni to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, skips down the track and a whippy drive down the ground for the man at long-on to hurl it back

7.2

Ankit Soni to de Villiers, 1 run, flattish delivery nipping in and knocked away into the mid-wicket region for a single

7.1

Ankit Soni to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, chips the drive uppishly as he tried to repeat the inside out stroke but the ball goes a lot square, sans any timing for a single

Ankit Soni, comes into the attack

Here is Soni. Debutant. Under pressure.

6.6

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, stays inside the line of the ball and tucks the ball round the corner for a single

6.5

Jadeja to de Villiers, 1 run, plays the ball onto the side wicket and scampers through for a quick run. The bowler gets there but fails to stop the run despite having a shy at the bowler's end

6.4

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, another dink, another single as the man at 45 degrees is not quick enough to stop that

6.3

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, FOUR, uncocks the wrists on impact and goes inside out to get a four over cover. One bounce into the fence. Shot of the day so far. The execution looked serene despite not a lot of followthrough with the bat. Just a suplex of the wrists

6.2

Jadeja to Kedar Jadhav, 2 runs, clips the ball away into the on-side by using the pace of the bowler and they race back for a couple

6.1

Jadeja to de Villiers, 1 run, starts with a fuller delivery and the batsman squirts the drive out square on the off-side to earn a single

Ravindra Jadeja, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack

Jadeja into the attack now.

5.6

Basil Thampi to Kedar Jadhav, no run, stays his crease and dinks the ball away into the on-side to find the man at mid-wicket

5.5

Basil Thampi to Kedar Jadhav, FOUR, up and over screams Danny. Short ball zoning into the batsman, Kedar Jadhav archs his body back and uppercuts the ball away over the man at point for a four. Hat-trick of fours and RCB try to break the shackles

5.4

Basil Thampi to Kedar Jadhav, FOUR, strays on the fuller side with length, on the pads with the line, flicked nonchalantly over the man at short fine leg for a four. Kedar is away!

5.3

Basil Thampi to Kedar Jadhav, FOUR, short delivery and the batsman is quick to latch on it. The short deliveries were getting predictable and the batsman rocked back to slaughter that. The man in the deep - Tye, dives but fails to pull it back

Something has forced a mini-pause in the game.

5.2

Basil Thampi to Kedar Jadhav, no run, short ball on the off-stick, the batsman looks to pull but finds the man at mid-on

5.1

Basil Thampi to Kedar Jadhav, no run, good quick delivery aimed at the sticks and the batsman stays back to jab it out

4.6

Andrew Tye to de Villiers, no run, short ball and it climbs up and the batsman defends it away into the deck. The slower short ball was well spotted by the batter as he had it covered and played it as late as he could

4.5

Andrew Tye to de Villiers, no run, on a length, attacking the sticks, the batsman barricades that one on the on-side

4.4

Andrew Tye to Kedar Jadhav, 1 run, full-toss and clipped away uppishly just over the man at mid-wicket. They get only a single thanks to some lazy bit of running

4.3

Andrew Tye to Kedar Jadhav, no run, short ball climbs up and the batsman stays his crease to drop the ball dead into the turf. Hat-trick ball negotiated

Two slips in place for the hat-trick ball. He already has one in the tourney.

Kedar Jadhav, right handed bat, comes to the crease

4.2

Andrew Tye to Head, out Caught by Raina!! The ball rears up, the batsman fails to get his hands out of the way and manages to edge it for Raina to take it at first slip. Good captaincy as he had himself there for this ball. All going GL's way. Head has a look of disbelief as he stares at the wicket. He had no clue as to how the ball sprung up from that length. On a hat-trick is Tye. Head c Raina b Andrew Tye 0(1)

Andrew Tye to Head, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

Travis Head, left handed bat, comes to the crease

4.1

Andrew Tye to Gayle, out Caught by Karthik!! The ball nips away and takes the edge. First Kohli, now Gayle. RCB are under heavy weather. Gayle has a lame poke at it without any feet and manages to edge it. Karthik behind the stumps has one of the easiest bargains. GL have started off on a roaring note. Gayle c Karthik b Andrew Tye 8(11) [4s-1]

Andrew Tye to Gayle, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

Andrew Tye, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack

3.6

Basil Thampi to de Villiers, no run, stands up and allows the ball to to come to him before dropping it down with soft hands onto the on-side

AB de Villiers, right handed bat, comes to the crease

3.5

Basil Thampi to Kohli, out Caught by Finch!! Kohli has a smile, a frustrating one as he departs. That was short, at his body and Kohli closes the face of the bat on the pull but finds the man at short fine leg to perfection. He doesn't believe his luck. He timed it well but placement deserted him. The fielder - Finch gobbles it up somehow as the ball threatened to pop out. Massive strike from Basil Thampi who has both hands up in the air and soaks in the moment. He has scalped one of the best in the business. Kohli c Finch b Basil Thampi 10(13) [6s-1]

Basil Thampi to Kohli, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

3.4

Basil Thampi to Kohli, no run, slower full delivery? It was a full toss and Kohli trying to throw his bat at that, gets it off the toe-end of the bat and the ball dribbles away into the on-side

3.3

Basil Thampi to Kohli, 2 runs, again a short ball discomforts the shot making of the batsman. Kohli trying to pull it, gets it from almost of the shoulder of the bat and lands it just away from the man at mid-on. They take a couple

3.2

Basil Thampi to Gayle, 1 run, good thinking by the bowler as he cramps the batsman with a bumper. Gayle was backing away but the bowler saw the preempted movement and bowled it short. The jabbed evasive pull takes the inner half of the bat and goes away fine on the on-side for a single

3.1

Basil Thampi to Kohli, 1 run, back of a length delivery nipping into the batsman, Kohli rolls his wrist on that and closes the bat face to work it away onto the on-side

Basil Thampi will have to reload as he loses momentum in his run up and opts out.

3.1

Basil Thampi to Kohli, wide, wrong line and penalized. That goes well down leg for the umpire to stretch his arms

2.6

Nathu Singh to Gayle, FOUR, slashes at that, the ball creams the outer part of the bat and goes between short third man and backward point for a four. It was full and well outside off. The bait was there and Gayle didn't back off

2.5

Nathu Singh to Gayle, no run, pitched up and the big bat is laid down on it. However, the ball finds the man at cover

2.4

Nathu Singh to Gayle, no run, dances down the track and looks to blast it. The ball chalks the toe-end of the bat and drops dead in front of the bowler. Another length delivery slanting away it was

2.4

Nathu Singh to Gayle, wide, too short, too much down leg, wided by the umpire

2.3

Nathu Singh to Kohli, leg byes, 1 run, short delivery, Kohli looks to pull it away but is late on it. The ball thuds the thigh pad and lobs up on the on-side for a quick single to be taken. Kohli is not happy on the miss-out there

2.2

Nathu Singh to Kohli, no run, stays leg-side of the wicket and then looks to play it on the off-side. The ball trims the outer half of the bat and bobbles away to be picked up by the man at cover

2.1

Nathu Singh to Gayle, 1 run, down onto the pads and tucked away to deep square leg for an easy single to be earned

1.6

Basil Thampi to Kohli, no run, just defends it onto the off-side as the ball landed on a good length and moved away a trifle

1.5

Basil Thampi to Kohli, SIX, there goes the riposte from the RCB skipper. He planted his feet leg-sidish and created enough room for a whip of the hands. The ball soared into the stands

1.4

Basil Thampi to Kohli, no run, short delivery and it goes over the batsman for him to miss the pull. The keeper was jumping up and down in an appeal. The bowler joined him but the umpire just signalled it one for the over

1.3

Basil Thampi to Kohli, no run, another delivery with some nip into the batsman and Kohli defends it into the on-side

1.2

Basil Thampi to Gayle, 1 run, back of a length delivery and rising onto the batsman, Gayle drops his wrists on that and tucks the ball away into the on-side for a single

1.1

Basil Thampi to Gayle, no run, gets the ball to slant away at a quickish skiddy pace and the batsman is happy to miss the ball by playing inside the line of the ball

Basil Thampi, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

0.6

Nathu Singh to Kohli, no run, short delivery pinged just outside off and the batsman hops back to jab the ball away into the off-side. No chance of a run. Nathu has started off on the perfect note for GL

0.5

Nathu Singh to Gayle, leg byes, 1 run, the ball dribbles away onto the on-side after the tuck was missed. Again Gayle hurries away to get a run

0.4

Nathu Singh to Kohli, 1 run, the ball almost tickles the gloves as the batsman rises up to fend it down and pick a single. The man at square leg came charging in to pick the ball up but Gayle made it running to the danger end

0.3

Nathu Singh to Kohli, no run, short delivery nipping away, left alone by Kohli. Ummm. Interesting. Effect of the dismissal from the last game?

0.2

Nathu Singh to Gayle, 1 run, on the pads and clipped away nicely, the ball lands on the bounce for the man at square leg to fumble it. Tye, the fielder there got himself into a tangle and allowed Gayle to be off the mark

0.1

Nathu Singh to Gayle, no run, gets the ball to land on the right length, little bit of shape away from the south paw and dead batted by Gayle

Gayle and Kohli are at the crease. Gayle is on strike. Nathu Singh will open the attack

Gayle to take strike. Nathu is the prey bowling to him. Will the Universe Boss deliver? Kohli got two hundreds against GL last season. Just saying..

Virat Kohli: The situation is pretty similar to last year. It is important to step up and play the cricket we are known to play. The pitch is a lot different to what it was in the last two years so we were looking to bat first. Batting second has been difficult. It is not a bad thing to be batting first. Tymal has just had a niggle in his back, so Travis Head takes his place. Binny misses out, Aniket comes in.

Suresh Raina: We gonna bowl first. We practised last night. There was a lot of dew there. So, it is better to bat second. Our bowling has been a bit of a surprise for us. They haven't bowled well in the first 6 overs. James Faulkner comes in. We have Basil, Nathu, Ankit Soni. Akshdeep Nath, Smith miss out.

Gujarat Lions have won the toss and have opted to field

Virat Kohli gets a massive roar as he walks out notices MS Ramakrishnan. Kohli also has a word with Shane Watson. Kevin Pietersen has a word or two to share with the Indian captain. Our MS adds saying Kohli is seen doing the talking in a massive team huddle. Irfan Pathan is seen having some batting practice. Is that a sneak peek into things to come? Aniket Choudhary is seen marking his run up as well. Stuart Binny doesn't seem to be in the picture of warming up. He might be missing out today but then you never know. For GL, Roy is up and running, Dwayne Smith not much. Time for the flip of the coin!

The headaches for both the teams are countless. The cure for it nowhere to be seen. RCB's batting has come a cropper and Gujarat's bowling woes have compunded with every game. Can Irfan Pathan, an injury replacement for DJ Bravo be the immediate tonic? Our man MS Ramakrishnan observes Irfan was seen bowling on the side wicket. But he quickly adds so were many of the other GL bowlers.

19:00 Local Time, 13:30 GMT, 19:00 IST: Bangalore's ride in this year's IPL has been like that of a mundane journey on a forever stretched expressway. A detour if possible to repeat the path taken last year would not be a bad idea either (They won 5 of their last 6 league games last year). A similar situation stares them on their faces. Gujarat on the other hand, have been on a bumpy ride themselves. Their bowling attack has lacked the penetration and the opposing teams have had a holiday of a time against their bowlers.

*************************************

Preview by MS Ramakrishnan

One team is struggling with the bat and the other is struggling with the ball. Does this make Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) versus Gujarat Lions (GL) an even battle? Two crucial points are up for grabs at the Chinnaswamy stadium come Thursday (April 27).

A victory for RCB will see them jump to fifth place in the league standings. Two points will push GL to sixth place, while they also have the chance of moving to fifth depending on the net run rate.

A wash-out against Sunrisers Hyderabad has put RCB under extra pressure, with the team needing to win a minimum of five of their remaining six games to progress to the play-offs. GL, who are currently ranked last, have the cushion of an extra game than RCB, although their campaign needs to gain steam if they are to aim for a top-four finish.

On the eve of the game, all eyes were on the Bengaluru skies, the pitch and the Lions' new signing Irfan Pathan. The left-handed all-rounder was very early to arrive at the ground for practice and addressed the media with a refreshing smile, expressing his delight at returning to top-level cricket.

There was much more intensity during the visitors' practice session than the hosts' as their key attractions - Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle opted out. Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Mandeep Singh, Stuart Binny, Sachin Baby and Vishnu Vinod - all had short stints, some with both bat and ball.

The Lions looked relaxed as a unit and started off with a mini football session. Jason Roy sent some hits soaring into the stands, while Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina had a long look against the spinners. Aaron Finch swung his willow around and was followed by Ravindra Jadeja. Ishan Kishan, who was not fit for the Lions' previous game against Kings XI Punjab, seemed to have recovered and batted for a good amount of time.

What to expect: On the weather front, there were a few grey clouds hovering over the ground on pre-match day, but with the city receiving no rain post the washout, things are expected to be cricket-friendly on the game day. The radar too looks promising and the chance of a full game happening is very high. The pitch and the square was covered as a precautionary measure though.

The playing surface that was supposed to serve the RCB-SRH game will now be used for Thursday's encounter. When the cameras zoomed in on the 22 yards on Tuesday, one could spot quite a few cracks. On the eve of the game, the ground staff decided to shave off whatever grass that had grown overnight and it is expected to be a slow pitch, meaning stroke-play could not be all that easy.

History: RCB and GL have played each other four times so far in IPL history, with the former winning thrice and the latter triumphant in one.

Team News

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Surprisingly, a batting line-up rated as one of the best in the season, has failed miserably to put together a complete performance. Only once have two batsmen registered fifty-plus scores in the same match after eight games - a plight RCB fans find hard tough to believe, especially after a dream season in 2016.

The one positive though is that their best game of the season as a batting unit came against Gujarat Lions in their away game, when Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli made a strong statement. This probably will keep the morale high in the team in the build up to the game.

Yuzvendra Chahal had a good game at the Eden Gardens and with the pitch likely to assist the spinners, he holds the key for RCB against the explosive GL batting line-up. Tymal Mills could also be handy with his cutters as pace of the ball is most likely to help the bowlers.

Dwayne Smith was not to be seen in the training session. With Roy having a hit in the middle, it could be a straight swap between the two hard-hitters. While the batting line-up has looked pretty consistent, Gujarat has made a number of changes to their bowling attack. They have fielded about 12 bowlers thus far, trying to meet combination and injury concerns.

Basil Thampi is one to watchout for, with him bowling at pace and having the ability to nail good yorkers. He also had a reasonably good game against RCB, conceding less than eight runs per over and even accounting for Chris Gayle.

Shadab Jakati rolled his arm over against captain Suresh Raina and with Shubham Agarwal not having a great last game against Kings XI Punjab, the left-armer could replace the leg-spinner. There is a chance that James Faulkner could get a game too ahead of Smith and Roy, for he bowled at good pace, even breaking the top of middle stump when bowling to Ishan Kishan.

Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli are 43 runs short of becoming the first pair to put together 3000 partnership runs in 20-over cricket. GL average 31.79 with the bat and 46.67 with the bowl - the difference of 14.88 being the highest among the eight teams. Among those who faced at least 50 balls in IPL 2017, only three players strike at less than 100, two of them are from RCB - Shane Watson (96.83) and Mandeep Singh (97.01). Suresh Raina has dismissed 18 times by leg spinners - the most for a batsman in IPL. He has got out to Yuzvendra Chahal four times.

What they said:

"We can definitely turn things around. We have a good bunch of players. We need to give our best for all six games and win," Sreenath Aravind talking about RCB's future in the season.

"It's like I'm coming back from the dead. It's wonderful. When you don't get picked it's disappointing. Even if it's halfway stage of the tournament or the fag end, it's a really wonderful feeling to get picked. Hopefully I will get an opportunity and play well," Irfan Pathan on being picked by Gujarat Lions.